Eddie Hearn has revealed he had a friendly argument with UFC star Conor McGregor who blamed him after Gary Cully suffered an upset loss.
Hearn promoted the latest Matchroom Boxing bill headlined by Katie Taylor's stunning defeat to Chantelle Cameron at the 3Arena in Dublin last night. McGregor is a huge fan of Irish superstar Taylor and was ringside at the event where he was pictured sat next to the Matchroom Boxing kingpin and assessing the fights.
It was a night of upsets for Irish fighters with prospect Cully also falling to a sensational defeat after being stopped in the third round to end his 16-fight win streak. And Hearn has since revealed McGregor took a friendly dig at his matchmaking following the dramatic upset, with Cully now required to go back to the drawing board.
“He never recovered from the first knockdown,” Hearn told iFL TV when talking about McGregor's reaction to Cully's shock defeat. “Got overexcited, had his chin in the air, got hit by a Mexican who can punch. I had a bit of a row, a friendly row, with Conor McGregor, because he said ‘why did you put him in with him?’ You’ve got to beat kids like that.
"Tyrone McKenna beat him, Sandor Martin beat him. You are talking about Gary Cully being a world-class lightweight, you have to beat guys like that. He would have beaten him if he would have boxed smart, but it was a devastating defeat and he’s going to learn a lot from that. He’s going to come back from that and maybe he needs to look to move up to 140lbs as well."
McGregor has been involved with the world of boxing throughout his career and particularly since touching gloves with undefeated legend Floyd Mayweather in 2017. The Irishman gave his backing to the event with his brands Tidl and Proper Twelve helping fund the event.
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Throughout the fight week, the UFC superstar has even teased a future in the boxing ring and promotional work with Hearn having suggested he would be open to a fight with Canelo Alvarez. However he would only be willing to work with the Irishman as long as it was against a serious rival.
He said: " Jake Paul, Nate Diaz, I dunno but I don't think he needs to do it. He's made his money, he's a great mixed martial artist. You don't want to go in there and lose to someone you don't really like. It's one thing losing to Floyd Mayweather, you don't want to lose to a plonker.
"We talked about boxing but obviously he's with the UFC and I respect Dana. He also knows what he's doing, he's been around and if we ever get involved in promoting a fight for him, it would be fantastic. But we're getting on very well."
